Last year, Umar Daraz, a 22- year-old man was arrested by Pakistani authorities for hoisting the Indian flag atop his house after India won a cricket match against Australia in which Kohli scored 90 runs. According to a report, Daraz was a big fan of Kohli and the flag hoisting was an act to express love for the cricketer. Earlier this week, 19 people, including minors were arrested from various parts of the country for celebrating Pakistan’s victory over India in the Champions Trophy Final. No Indian law prohibits celebrating another country’s sporting victory over India. Some reports claim that these people have been booked under the charge of ‘sedition’.

Actual violence or incitement to violence is a necessary ingredient to the charge of sedition. By no stretch of imagination can celebrating Pakistan’s victory be tantamount to incitement of violence. Why would an Indian celebrate when Pakistan wins against India and is it wrong to do this? I can think of two reasons. One reason can be the team’s sheer sporting excellence. Pakistan was considered a weak team and staged a spectacular turn-around after initial losses. This shouldn’t be outside the realm of possibilities. Ihave friends who get almost violent, give up eating or punch walls in a fit of rage when, thousands of miles away, a football club in England, loses a match.

These friends have no connection to England whatsoever. The fact that England colonised India, oppressed Indians for two hundred years, and killed millions does not seem to bother them. I (thankfully) don’t see anyone taking umbrage to them. A friend who recently declared me a traitor argued that Pakistan is not just another country. Similar rules don’t apply to them. When we are playing against Pakistan, it is not just a game. The team represents the State of Pakistan. The State of Pakistan is India’s enemy and has killed thousands of our citizens. While I don’t agree, let me take this argument to its logical conclusion.

If the Pakistani cricket team represents Pakistan then the Indian cricket team is representing the Indian State. The Captain of the Indian team was full of praises for the Pakistani side after the loss. Yuvraj, Dhoni and Kohli clicked photographs with the children of two Pakistani cricketers. Some Indian cricketers were seen exchanging banter in another video. I don’t think this behaviour indicates that they were fighting against people who symbolise all the wrongs Pakistan has visited upon India. Wikipedia defines sportswomanship as an ethos that an activity will be enjoyed for its own sake with proper consideration for fairness, respect and a sense of fellowship for one’s competitors.

All evidence leads me to the inevitable conclusion that those we were rooting for were themselves treating it like a sport and nothing else. Why can’t everyone else do the same? My friend and stand-up artist Sanjay Rajoura often performs in Pakistan. In his set, he jokes about religion, the Pakistani Army, Pakistani Government and many other elephants in their proverbial room. I always see Pakistanis stand up and applaud and take those jokes very well. Needless to say, stand up is not a competitive sport but it isn’t war either, just like sport isn’t. It is absolutely fine to feel broken and hurt if someone cheers a team you don’t like.

It is terrible, however, to begin doubting their patriotism, or worse, arrest the people in question. It is not the business of the state to protect everyone’s hurt feelings. It may not be just agame for you, it should be ok for it to be just a game for others. The second reason I think someone would support another country’s team is when this is done as an act of protest. The Indian state has committed and continues to perpetrate horrible atrocities in various parts of the country. People who belong to some religions are treated like secondary citizens – discriminated against when looking to rent a house, find a job and more.

No one in their right mind can deny that the Indian government has often oppressed innocent citizens- in Kashmir, in Nagaland, in Manipur. This oppression has also and often been perpetrated in police stations across the country. I, for one, don’t feel surprised at all when people who believe they are treated like strangers or enemies in their own homes, express support for another country. If this bothers you, these people being arrested should bother you even more. Like Gandhi once said, affection cannot be manufactured by force.

I am also paraphrasing something Shehla Rashid said – if patriotism could be manufactured at gunpoint all areas under AFSPA would be full of citizens brimming with patriotism. Those arrested will come back more bitter than they were when they initially. Or maybe we could take a leaf out of a viral video I saw. Two groups of cricket fans on the London tube – one supporting Pakistan, another India. Pakistanis start chanting Pakistan Zindabad. The Indian group joins in. Soon after, Indians chant Hindustan Zindabad and Pakistanis repeat the favour and fervour. I think there’s a huge lesson here. What do you think?

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